HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
Don't hear much about him, but this is a pretty good article on Adi.
Adi Kunalic
Adi Kunalic Goal: hang 'em high
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - The difference between 3.5 and 4.0 seconds would be insignificant to most people, but it's something Nebraska kicker Adi Kunalic thinks about almost daily.
That half-second is how much longer he wants his kickoffs to stay in the air this season.
"It kind of made me work harder this summer, which is good," Kunalic said. "I worked a lot on my height, and I think we're going to use that a lot this year."
The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, registered touchbacks on 28 of 66 kickoffs last season even though an NCAA rule change meant kicking off from the 30 instead of the 35. Many of his kicks were line drives that he would like to see airborne for just a fraction of a second longer.
"I had a ball the other day that probably went 10 yards behind the end zone and had like a 4.2 hang time, which is ridiculous," he said. :blink: :blink:
Kunalic was a rare bright spot last season for the Huskers, who had been burned by short kickoffs the year before. Still, he found fault with the hang times and the leg fatigue that reduced his touchback rate late in the season.
NU strength coach James Dobson helped with some of the power, putting him through the offseason paces and having him run with the Husker linebackers. Kunalic fell back on some old form by getting under the ball and jumping through it.
The result, Kunalic said, is maybe one practice in preseason camp in which he wasn't happy with his kicking.
"There's just more maturity about him, I think," said Jake Wesch, NU's holder and a backup kicker. "He's not getting as flustered, and he knows how to handle himself. Maybe if one kick doesn't go his way, he seems a lot more relaxed. I think it's just the part of adjusting to the college level from the high school level."
Kunalic started last season with six touchbacks against Nevada, then had at least four in three other games. The tired leg in November was probably a combination of kicking too much during practice and not taking enough care of his leg.
"After the last game, I took a couple weeks off," he said. "And when I came back, I was just booming them."
Kunalic said he was surprised at the reaction from the home crowd when he started sending kickoffs into the end zone. That's all he knew how to do in high school.
Soon he took a liking to it.
"It's the best feeling ever when the crowd appreciates it," he said. "I could probably go to some other school, and people would take it for granted and not even know what it means. But here they appreciate it. And you know what? It makes me work harder because I don't want to disappoint anybody. I know what Nebraska football means to these people."
Kicking off again will be Kunalic's niche, although he also might be an option on longer field goals. NU coach Bo Pelini has said Alex Henery probably will handle most field goals after making all eight of his attempts last season.
"I would say I'm up there with him, but if he's not missing them, then that's good," Kunalic said. "The way I see it, I like being a team player and whatever's good for my team is fine with me. And he's a really good friend of mine, so when I see him succeed, it makes me happy."
• Contact the writer: 444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
Adi Kunalic
Adi Kunalic Goal: hang 'em high
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - The difference between 3.5 and 4.0 seconds would be insignificant to most people, but it's something Nebraska kicker Adi Kunalic thinks about almost daily.
That half-second is how much longer he wants his kickoffs to stay in the air this season.
"It kind of made me work harder this summer, which is good," Kunalic said. "I worked a lot on my height, and I think we're going to use that a lot this year."
The sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas, registered touchbacks on 28 of 66 kickoffs last season even though an NCAA rule change meant kicking off from the 30 instead of the 35. Many of his kicks were line drives that he would like to see airborne for just a fraction of a second longer.
"I had a ball the other day that probably went 10 yards behind the end zone and had like a 4.2 hang time, which is ridiculous," he said. :blink: :blink:
Kunalic was a rare bright spot last season for the Huskers, who had been burned by short kickoffs the year before. Still, he found fault with the hang times and the leg fatigue that reduced his touchback rate late in the season.
NU strength coach James Dobson helped with some of the power, putting him through the offseason paces and having him run with the Husker linebackers. Kunalic fell back on some old form by getting under the ball and jumping through it.
The result, Kunalic said, is maybe one practice in preseason camp in which he wasn't happy with his kicking.
"There's just more maturity about him, I think," said Jake Wesch, NU's holder and a backup kicker. "He's not getting as flustered, and he knows how to handle himself. Maybe if one kick doesn't go his way, he seems a lot more relaxed. I think it's just the part of adjusting to the college level from the high school level."
Kunalic started last season with six touchbacks against Nevada, then had at least four in three other games. The tired leg in November was probably a combination of kicking too much during practice and not taking enough care of his leg.
"After the last game, I took a couple weeks off," he said. "And when I came back, I was just booming them."
Kunalic said he was surprised at the reaction from the home crowd when he started sending kickoffs into the end zone. That's all he knew how to do in high school.
Soon he took a liking to it.
"It's the best feeling ever when the crowd appreciates it," he said. "I could probably go to some other school, and people would take it for granted and not even know what it means. But here they appreciate it. And you know what? It makes me work harder because I don't want to disappoint anybody. I know what Nebraska football means to these people."
Kicking off again will be Kunalic's niche, although he also might be an option on longer field goals. NU coach Bo Pelini has said Alex Henery probably will handle most field goals after making all eight of his attempts last season.
"I would say I'm up there with him, but if he's not missing them, then that's good," Kunalic said. "The way I see it, I like being a team player and whatever's good for my team is fine with me. And he's a really good friend of mine, so when I see him succeed, it makes me happy."
• Contact the writer: 444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
